Germany wants to buy green hydrogen from Colombia, but there are several challenges.
Colombia and Germany created the Steering Committee of the Green Hydrogen High Level Group to promote renewable energy projects. This was the third diplomatic meeting in search of creating commercial cooperation to form a hydrogen industry that meets demand at the national level and exports to the European country.
The delegations had already met in December 2022, in Colombia, and in June 2023, in Germany, on which occasion the then Minister of Mines and Energy, Irene Vélez, and the Minister of Commerce, Germán Umaña, signed a memorandum of understanding with the Energy Institute of the Fraunhofer Society, one of the largest scientific associations in Europe and which has its headquarters in Berlin, to evaluate the transport chains of this element in the country.
In all these meetings, the potential of Colombia, and specifically the Caribbean region, to become “an important hydrogen industrial zone and deliver significant volumes to local and international markets at competitive prices” has been discussed, as the Ministry of Mines and Energy in a statement after the June 2023 meeting.
🔥 What about we co-host a webinar? Let's educate, captivate, and convert the hydrogen economy!
Hydrogen Central is the global go-to online magazine for the hydrogen economy, we can help you host impactful webinars that become a global reference on your topic and are an evergreen source of leads. Click here to request more details
But what is green hydrogen and why is Germany’s interest in cooperating for the development of this industry in Colombia? In El Espectador we spoke with Christopher Hebling, international director of the Fraunhofer Energy Institute, and with Carsten Rolle, director of Energy and Climate of the Federation of German Industry (BDI, for its acronym in German) to learn about the progress of this initiative .
What is green hydrogen?
Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe and is made up of the molecule H2. Finding it in that state, however, is a quite complex task, since it is usually mixed with other elements. For example, in water (H2O), it is with oxygen.
When hydrogen is separated from the molecules that accompany it, it is a gas that can be used as fuel in various processes, especially in industry. The challenge lies, however, in that their isolation requires methods that consume a large amount of energy and that are classified by color according to their environmental impact.
So, when the H2 molecule is isolated using coal or methane gas, the process is known as black or gray hydrogen, due to the high pollution it generates; In contrast, when renewable energies are used, such as solar or wind, it is known as green hydrogen, since it is one of the least harmful to the environment. The latter is what they want to promote in Colombia.
The first stage of the cooperation, says Hebling, consisted of carrying out a study to find out the country’s potential to produce green hydrogen.
Hebling, says:
We also made very robust simulation models to estimate the cost of producing these molecules in Colombia.
With this information, the next phase, says the director of the Fraunhofer Energy Institute, will be to work on investment instruments with the German industry to promote projects in Colombia.
The interest in promoting this industry in the country, complements Rolle, from BDI, is to be able to import this product and its derivatives to Germany. They also seek to connect companies that produce, for example, steel blades for wind farms, with renewable energy projects in Colombia, in a relationship that would benefit the industries of both countries.
Rolle points out:
Germany has always been an energy importer. The biggest opportunity presented by the start of this dialogue is that the competencies of both parties complement each other in a very timely manner.
“We have the technology providers and they want to integrate this into a supply chain in which Colombia also has a participation,”
The doubts surrounding hydrogen production
Although the commitment to green hydrogen production projects has many advantages, it also has some doubts. The Global Hydrogen Review , published by the International Energy Agency in 2023, found that, although this is a fuel that is increasingly in demand in the world, its use continues to be concentrated in industries such as hydrocarbon exploitation, while its application in cargo transportation or aviation, which would contribute to sustainable mobility, remains minimal.
Furthermore, a review of scientific evidence published in 2021, carried out by the British renewable energy consultancy Liebreich, found that, so far, the technology to use hydrogen only makes it efficient in some sectors, such as fertilizer production, while in others it is more economical to use electric batteries or biogas. The question about in which situations or sectors of the economy this gas can be efficiently used as fuel is crucial, since it can determine the sustainability of its production.
Hebling acknowledges:
“In Germany this discussion is also taking place, because we know that we cannot use hydrogen for everything,”
As with fertilizers, it ensures that its efficiency in the production of hydrocarbons is also proven, and its use has a lower environmental impact compared to gray hydrogen, which is what is usually used in these industries.
For Rolle, the discussion between using electricity or hydrogen for sustainable mobility is not yet over, because it is not only a problem of efficiency. “There the criterion is, basically, the quality of the networks. If there is a strong and sustainable electricity system, the transport sector can very easily be electrified. But, when not, hydrogen can be evaluated as an alternative. Efficiency is one of the parameters, but it is one among many others that must be taken into account,” he explains.
Another doubt surrounding the production of green hydrogen in Colombia is that it depends on the advancement of renewable energies. In La Guajira, which is the region with the greatest wind and solar potential in the country, several projects have presented delays in their execution due to delays in environmental licenses, in prior consultation processes and due to lack of financing, as we have reported in The viewer. in past articles.
Rolle, says:
One of the solutions proposed by the German delegation is to “explain very well to the population what the energy transition is about. Because communities have to accept all these new technologies. Therefore, dialogue with civil society, communication and education must be joint objectives,”
The implementation of renewable energies, Hebling points out, also requires improvements in “port infrastructure, transmission networks, energy production and incentives for that energy to be sustainable. In Germany many things go slower than planned. There are also problems in project financing.” Solving this, he assures, requires a long-term plan, but with staged objectives that allow evaluating progress.
According to Minminas, 10 green hydrogen production pilots have already been carried out in the country focused on “residential, transportation and industrial” uses. The Steering Committee of the Green Hydrogen High Level Group is currently reviewing several proposals and it is expected that the next meeting, which does not yet have a defined date, will discuss the viability of the first projects.
READ the latest news shaping the hydrogen market at Hydrogen Central
Germany wants to buy green hydrogen from Colombia, but there are several challenges. source
